Gov. Bobby Jindal, Republicans turn attention to immigration reform

GOP members are turning to immigration reform to upgrade a party image tainted by negative rhetoric toward Latinos this election.

Mitt Romney reopened fresh wounds when he said President Barack Obama was reelected because he bribed minority groups with “extraordinary gifts from the government.”

Comments like Romney’s get in the way of the conservative message and turn Latinos off to the GOP, said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the new chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association, during CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

“Republican candidates this year did a lot of damage to the brand,” Jindal said. ”As a party, we need to stop talking down to voters.”

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 08: Latinos and immigrants participate in a rally on immigration reform in front of the White House on November 8, 2012 in Washington, DC. Immigrant rights organizations called on President Barack Obama to fulfill his promise of passing comprehensive immigration reform. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

So Jindal and other Republicans are taking a new look at immigration, and it’s nothing like the “self-deportation” approach that might have cost Romney the presidency.

Texas, home to 1,254 miles of the 1,900-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border and a staunch Republican state, is shedding GOP stereotypes and moving toward immigration reform in an attempt to ward off a potential Democratic takeover as the Latino population grows.

The movement is being spearheaded by Brad Bailey, a restaurant owner and political activist from Houston (who also uses E-Verify to check the citizenship status of his employees). His proposed immigration solution includes a temporary guest worker program, securing the border and reforming Social Security cards to prevent counterfeiting.

Bailey said a guest worker program would help employers find workers willing to take the jobs American won’t and help boost the economy. That’s something that gets Republicans to listen, and they did.

The Republican Party of Texas adopted the temporary worker program in its platform in June. The national party followed in August during the convention in Tampa.

Bailey said he’s watched as disbelieving Tea Partiers and GOP women’s groups come around to the reforms. Skeptics slowly uncross their arms when he talks them through the nuts and bolts.

“It’s resonated with people,” Bailey said. “A lot of people want to see solutions. They don’t want to see government gridlock.”

Bailey said it’s an issue that needs to be solved across the aisle but has divided the parties as they battle for the Latino vote. There’s also a chance it might loose momentum as Congress deals with the impeding fiscal cliff.

But especially now, there still might be a chance Republicans can work with Democrats to help fix the broken immigration system, said Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S.

“The time is ripe not only because of the lessons being…derived from what happened a week ago in the United States, but because this new lay of land and the political muscle of Latino vote,” Sarukhan said.

The fight over the Arizona immigration law is just one of several politically-sensitive cases
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70293.html#ixzz1yAPBW2zz

Image 6 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

The fight over the Arizona immigration law is just one of several politically-sensitive cases
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70293.html#ixzz1yAPBW2zz

The fight over the Arizona immigration law is just one of several...politically-sensitive cases
Read more:...http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70293.html#ixzz1yAPBW2zz

Image 7 of 11|Arizona Immigration Law

Ross D. Franklin/AP

Josephine Nevarez, who opposes the Arizona Immigration Law, stands outside the US district court in Phoenix, Arizona with a bullhorn.

Image 7 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

Josephine Nevarez, who opposes the Arizona Immigration Law, stands outside the US district court in Phoenix, Arizona with a bullhorn.

Josephine Nevarez, who opposes the Arizona Immigration Law, stands...outside the US district court in Phoenix, Arizona with a bullhorn.

Image 8 of 11|Arizona Immigration Law

MANDEL NGAN/ Getty

A supporter of the Arizona Immigration Law stands outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in April 2012

Image 8 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

A supporter of the Arizona Immigration Law stands outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in April 2012

A supporter of the Arizona Immigration Law stands outside of the...Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in April 2012

Image 9 of 11|Arizona Immigration Law

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Demonstrators prepare to march in May of 2010 to protest the Arizona Immigration Law.

Image 9 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

Demonstrators prepare to march in May of 2010 to protest the Arizona Immigration Law.

Demonstrators prepare to march in May of 2010 to protest the Arizona...Immigration Law.

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AP

Judy Schulz, front, cheers as her husband Richard Schulz, left, both of Glendale, Ariz., as they joined hundreds supporting Arizona's new law on illegal immigration as they listen to speakers near the capitol Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Image 10 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

Judy Schulz, front, cheers as her husband Richard Schulz, left, both of Glendale, Ariz., as they joined hundreds supporting Arizona's new law on illegal immigration as they listen to speakers near the capitol Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Judy Schulz, front, cheers as her husband Richard Schulz, left, both...of Glendale, Ariz., as they joined hundreds supporting Arizona's new...law on illegal immigration as they listen to speakers near the capitol...Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Image 11 of 11|Arizona Immigration Law

AP

Tuulia Lowe protests against SB1070 and immigration deportations Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in San Francisco. Supreme Court justices strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Image 11 of 11 - Arizona Immigration Law

Tuulia Lowe protests against SB1070 and immigration deportations Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in San Francisco. Supreme Court justices strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Tuulia Lowe protests against SB1070 and immigration deportations...Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in San Francisco. Supreme Court justices...strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to...enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to...check the immigration status of people they think are in the country...illegally. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)